Method and device for making closure caps



Aug. 6, 1935. J. c. GIBBS 2,010,228

I METHOD AND DEVICE FOR MAKING CLOSURE CAPS Filed Dec. 17, 1932 2Sheets-Sheet 1 M ATTORNEY- Aug. 6, 1935. J. c. GIBBS I 2 METHOD ANDDEVICE FOR MAKING CLOSURE CAPS Filed Dec. 17, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR- Patented Aug. 6, 1935 BIETHOD DEVICE FOR MAKING CLOSURE CAPSJohn c. Gibbs, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Anchor Cap & ClosureCorporation, Long Island City, N. Y., a corporation of New York IApplication December 17, 1932, Serial No. 647,737

25 Claims. (01. 153-72 The present invention relates to a method anddevice for forming closure caps and similar articles, and particularlyto the forming of screw, closure caps for application to glass or othertypes of containers.

Screw closure caps, by reason of their simplicity of operation, are verypopular and are sold in large quantities. When made from lacquered sheetmetal, which is the customary material, a .number of difliculties arise.The caps have to fit on glass containers which vary in size from a truestandard within prescribed limits, designated as tolerances. Therefore;the same cap may be required to fit and form a seal on either a maximumor minimum size container. Unless the threads are deep in the cap, thecaps will not perform this function. Furthermore, unless the upper andlower ends of the thread maintain their addition, the rolled edge at thebottom of the cap limits the lower extremity oi the thread.

The present invention aims to overcome or 3 minimize the abovedifliculties by providing a de- --will increase the depth of the threadwithout mining the lacquer or the cap in any way and, in addition,increases the proximity of the lower end of the thread to the bottom ofthe cap with- 35 out decreasing its depth at its lower end. Theinvention aims, further, to achieve these objects without increasing themanufacturing cost of the articles.

An object of the present invention is to provide 40 an improved methodand device for manufacturing closure caps.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved ,method anddevice for manufacturing closure ca'ps adapted to increase the depth ofthe thread in the skirt of the cap without marring the appearance of thecap.

Another object of the invention is to extend the lower endof' the threadof the cap nearer the bottom thereof without decreasing the depth of thethread at thispoint.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon anunderstanding of the illustrative embodiment about tobe. described, orwill beindicated in the appended-claims, the various advantagesnotreferred to herein will occur to one pletelyformed;

even rupturing the tin surface of the metal. In'

vice and method for making closure caps which I skilled in the art uponemployment of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposesof-illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying draw- 5ings, forming a part of the specification, wherein Fig. l is aperspective view of the blank used for forming the cap;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the blank with the beaded edge abouthalf formed and at the com- 10 mencement of the threading operation;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the blank with the wire edge at thebottom of the cap formed entirely around the cap, the corrugations andthread being formed about half way around the cap;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the cap with the wire edge, corrugationsand thread partially formed completely about the cap;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the cap com- 20' Fig. 6 is a detailedsectional view showing the change in the shape of the cap flange inpassing 'from the stage shown in' Fig. 4 to that shown in Fig. 5; and

Figs. '1, 8 and 9 are'illustrations of the preferred embodiment of thedevice for forming the closure and practicing the method, Fig. 7 beingaplan view of the mechanism adapted to engage the exterior of the cap,Fig. 8 a plan view of the chuck which receives the cap and moves italong the surfaces shown in Fig. '7, and Fig. 9 a-partial sectional viewof the mechanism shown in Fig. 7. J

Referring again to the drawings, a finished closure cap I, adapted to bemade by the present method and device, is shown in Fig. 5 of thedrawings and. may comprise a cover portion 2, andia depending skirt 3having corrugations 4 at the upper portion thereof, screw threads 5 inthe central portion thereof, and a wire edge 6 on the 40 bottom of theskirt. The cover portion of the cap may have an annular groove or panel1 adapted to improve the appearance of the cap and to increase thesealing efficiency thereof by concentrating the pressure on the rim ofthe container over a small area.

In. manufacturing caps of this general type, it is customary first toform a blank, as shown in Fig. 1, which may comprise a cover portion 2with the annular-groove I, the depending skirt 3, and 0 the right angleflange 8 at the bottom of the skirt. This blank may be formed in asingle stamping operation. i

The first operation on the blank shown in Fig. 1-is preferably to rollthe flange 8 into a wire edge 6. This is shown more particularly in Fig.2, where the wire edge is shown in theprocess of formation. When theflange 8 has been rolled substantially half way around the blank, thecorrugating operation begins to form the corrugations 4 in the upperpart of the skirt of the cap. Directly after the commencement of thecorrugating operation, the threading operation begins to form the thread5 in the skirt of the cap. It will be noted that the commencement of thethread 5, that is, the lower end of the thread 5, is preferably formedjust ahead or circumferentially in advance of the rolling operation forforming the wire edge 6 from the flange 8. By starting the threadingoperation just after the commencement of the corrugating operation, thecorrugations may be utilized to prevent slippage between the parts ofthe device and to form the thread accurately. By forming the lower endof the thread prior to the rolling up of the flange 8 of the blank, itis possible to locate the lower end of the thread 5 much nearer thebottom of the cap than it is possible to do if the lower end of thethread 5 is made after the wire edge has been formed, or if made at apoint where the wire edge has been formed on the blank. It will benoted, in Fig. 2, that the lower end of the thread 5 may extend downbelow the upper part of the wire edge 6 because the flange 8 is rolledupwardly over the lower end of the thread. A greater depth can be had inthis portion of the thread when formed in this manner, since itsformation does not in any way change or interfere with the subsequentformation of the wire edge.

The formation of the corrugations 4, the thread 5, and the wire edge 6continues, the thread 5 being formed just ahead or circumferentially inadvance of the formation of the wire edge until the wire edge is formedcompletely about the cap. The blank at this stage is shown in Fig. 3 ofthe drawings. At this point; the corrugations 4 are formed about halfway, around the cap, and the thread 5 is likewise formed about half wayaround the cap, but the flange-8 has been turned up into the wire edge 6completely about the cap. It is to be noted, however, that the wire edge6, while extending completely about the cap, is not in its finishedstate because it has only been partially rolled at this point, althoughthe partial rolling extends completely about the cap. Likewise, thecorrugations 4 and thread 5 are not in their finished state, as will benoted hereinafter. The formation of the corrugations 4 and screw threads5 are continued until theyextend entirely about the cap, as shown moreparticularly in Fig. 4. In Fig. 4, the blank has been formed with ascrew thread as deep as it is feasible to form without damaging themetal or the lacquer thereon in a single operation, but this thread isnot sufficiently deep to give the best operating results when used withcontainers, because containers vary in size from a predeterminedstandard. In order to in crease the depth of the thread 5 and tocompletely finish the cap, the cap, as shown in Fig. 4, is passedthrough another stage substantially similar to the stages illustrated inFigs. 1 to 4, in which the thread 5 is made deeper. Preferably, thesecond rolling operation is commenced just before the upper or tail endof the thread is formed by the first operation, whereby the cap isdefinitely held in relation with the tools so that the second rollingoperation is effective upon the thread partially formed by the firstoperation. In addition, the rolling of the wire edge 6 is completed byturning the edge completely in, and the r corrugations t are increasedin depth. Thisis shown more particularly in Fig. 6 of the drawings,where the solid lines indicate the blank shown in Fig. 4 and the dottedlines indicate the shape of the finished cap and the depth of the partsas shown in Fig. 5.

While any suitable mechanism may be utilized for performing the steps ofthe method described above, a preferred embodiment of the device,illustrating one form of mechanism for practicing the method, is shownin Figs. 7 to 9. Preferably, the mechanism comprises a chuck I0 adaptedto receive and fit into the blank shown in Fig. 1 for moving the blankover the surfaces shown in Fig. 7 to form the cap. It will be understoodthat the drawings herein are more or less diagrammatic and that thesurface shown in Fig. 7 may be either a flat surface or a part orsection of a circular member about which the chuck I0 revolves. Themechanism shown in Figs. 7 and 9 is preferably formed by three platesthe wire edge on the cap. Preferably, the mechanism is divided into twosections, as indicated by the line l8 at the middle thereof. The sectionon the right side of the line l8 forms the blank through the severalstages illustrated in' Figs. 2,3 and 4, and the section on the leftside. of the line l8 completes the cap, as shown in Fig. 5. The threadsIS in the first section are substantially less in height than those ofthe secondsection. Likewise, the corrugations 15 are greater in depth inthe second section than in the first section, The groove I1 is slightlyless in depth and somewhat wider in the first stage than in thefinishing stage. Preferably, the mechanism in Fig. 7 is stationary andthe chuck I0 is utilized for moving the cap over the surfaces described,and it is also preferred to have the chuck geared so that it will rotatein a definite relation to the surfaces in Fig. 7 at all times.Otherwise, the thread IS on the chuck would not be at all times inproper relation to the threads M3 on the forming surfaces. The upper endof the chuck likewise has corrugations 20 adapted to cooperate with'thecorrugations I 5:

In the operation of the device, the blank, as shown in Fig. 1, is placedover the chuck l0 and the chuck is moved from the right to the leftacross the surfaces shown in Fig. 7. When the blank and chuck have movedto the point-indicated by the letter a, the formation 61 the blank hasreached the stage'illustrated in Fig. 2. When the chuck and blank havereached the point indicated at b, the blank has reached the stageillustrated in Fig. 3. When the chuck has reached the center or the endof the first section at l8, the cap is in the form illustrated in Fig.4. Thereafter, the cap is moved across the surfaces of the secondsection, which completes the upper or tail end of the thread, increasesthe depth of the corrugations, increases the depth of the screw thread,and rolls the wire edge completely. Any suitable means, such as a flatsurface 2|, may be utilized to hold the cover portion of the cap againstthe end of the chuck l0.

It will be seen that the present invention provides a closure cap inwhich the screw thread is substantially deeper than the screw threads inclosure caps madeby other methods and devices. The lower end of thescrew thread is extended nearer to the bottom of the skirt than waspossible heretofore and may extend below the upper edge of the wire ofthe finished cap. This portion of the thread has substantially the samedepth as the other portions of the thread, so that a good grip isobtained at the bottom of the cap'and the cap is able to engage thethread of the container about its entire circumference, with a minimumof length of skirt. By utilizing two stages, one of which has threadforming surfaces of greater prominence than the other, it is possible toroll the thread a certain depth in the first stage and to increase thisdepth substantially in the secand stage without marring the lacquer onthe metal or the metal itself. In this way, a depth can be obtainedwhich is not possible in a single rolling or drawing operation. Sincethe two operations occur directly after each other, they do not slow upthe machine making the cap or increase the cost thereof.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangementof the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention and without sacrificing any of its'advantages, it is to beunderstood that all ilar articles, which method comprises forming ablank, rolling a wire edge about a portion of the blank, corrugating aportion of the blank, rotating said blank through the intermediation ofsaid corrugations to prevent slippage, and thereafter commencing theformation of threads in said blank.

3. The method of making closure caps and similar articles, which methodcomprises forming a blank, rolling a wire edge about a portion of saidblank, corrugating said blank and commencing the corrugatingoperationbefore the wire edge has been formed entirely about/the blank.

4. The method of making closure capsand sim ilar articles, which methodcomprises forming a blank, rolling a wire edge on said blank,corrugating said blank, commencing the corrugat-' ing operation after aportion of the wire edge has been formed and before the wire edge hasbeen formed entirely about the blank, forming threads in said blank, andcommencing the thread forming operation substantially directly after thecommencement of the corru'gating operation.

5. The method of making closure caps and similar articles having screwthreads and a beaded edge, which method comprises beading the edge ofthe cap and forming the portion of the thread adjacent to the bead aftercommencement of the beading operation and prior to the completion of theheading operation.

6. The method of making'closure caps and similar articles having screwthreads therein and a bead at the lower edge thereof, which method;comprises forming the portion of the thread adjacent the bottom of thecap prior to the beading of the portion of the edge adjacent the com--jacent the lower edge of the thread and forming other portions of thethread.

'7. The method of making closure caps and similar articles having abeaded edge and screw threads, which method comprises forming a hat 5shaped blank, forming the lower end of the screw thread adjacent theflange on the bottom of the cap prior to the beading of the portion ofthe flange adjacent the bottom of the thread to position thecommencement of thethread as near to l" the flange of the blank aspossible, turning up.- wardly the flange adjacent the lower end of thethread to form a beaded edge and thereafter completing the formation ofthe thread and beaded edge. a 15 8. The method of making closure capsand similar articles having a threaded portion, a corrugated portion anda beaded portion, which method comprises forming a hat-shaped blank,turning upwardly the flange on the bottom of the blank to provide abeaded edge and forming the lower portion of the thread directly aheadof the turning of the flange to form the bead so that the lower part ofthe thread may be positioned close to the bottom of the cap, corrugat-25 ing the upper portion of the cap and utilizing said corrugations andsaid corrugating operation to prevent slippage in' the formation ofthethread. r J

. 9. The method of making closure caps and Q similar articles, whichmethod comprises rolling a bead on the lower edge of the cap, rolling athread in the cap and thereafter increasing the depth of the thread by asubsequent rolling operation. 10. The method of making closure caps andsimilar articles, which method comprises rolling a thread in the cap,forming corrugations in the cap and thereafter increasing the depth ofsaid corrugations and said thread by a subsequent 40 rolling operation.

11. The method of making closure caps and similar articles having abeaded edge, a threaded skirt, and corrugations in the upper part of theskirt, which method comprises forming a hat- 45 shaped blank, turningsaid flange upwardly to form a'wire edge and forming the lower part ofsaid thread directly ahead of the flange turning so that said portionsof the thread maybe as close to the flange as possible, corrugating theupper 50 part of the skirt, utilizing said corrugations to preventslippage, and increasing the depth of said corrugations and said screwthreads by a subsequent operation.

12. The method of making screw closure caps or similar articles, whichmethod comprises corrugating the cap, forming the threads in the cap,partially forming a bead on the lower edge of the cap, thereafterincreasing the depth of the corrugations, increasing the depth of thescrew threads and completing the turning of the lower edge of the beadin a subsequent operation. 7

13. The method of making screw caps, which? .l. method comprisespartially forming a wire edge onthe bottom'of theblank; partiallyforming the lower end of the thread directly ahead of the wire formingoperation, and thereafter completing the formation of the wire andincreasing the depthof the'th'read. h

14. In a device of the class described'fthe combination of a cap formingdevice having a rotatable chuck adapted to fit into a cap, a cap formingmechanism adapted to cooperate with said chuck,

said mechanism comprising a. surface for corr u- Eating a portion of thecap, a surface for threagfi ing the cap, and a second surface forthreading the cap, said second threading surface being adapted to formdeeper threads therein than said first threading surface.

15. In a device of the class described, the combination of a .capforming device comprising a rotatable chuck adapted to fit into a cap, acap forming mechanism adapted to cooperate with said chuck, saidmechanism comprising a surface for threading said cap, and a secondsurface for threading the cap, said second surface being adapted to formdeeper threads than said first threading surface.

16. In a device of the class described, the combination of a rotatablechuck adapted to fit into a cap,.a cap forming mechanism adaptedto'cooperate with said chuck, said mechanism comprising a surface forcorrugating a portion of a cap, a surface for forming a wire edge at thebottom of the cap, a surface for threading said cap, a second surfacefor threading the cap, a second surface for corrugating said cap, and asecond surface for beading said cap, said second surfaces being adaptedto increase the depth of the thread, increase the depth of thecorrugations and complete the formation of the bead, respectively.

17. In-a device of the class described, the combination of means forrolling a wire edge on the bottom of a blank, and means for rolling thelower end of a screw thread on said blank circumferentially in advanceof the rolling of the wire edge.

L 18. In a device of the class described, the combination of means forrolling a wire edge on the bottom of a blank, means for corrugating theupper part of the blank, and means for rolling a thread in the blank,said thread rolling means being adapted to form the lower end of thethread after the commencement of the corrugating and wire formingoperations and circumferentially in advance of the wire formingoperation.

' 19. The method of making closure caps and similar articles having abeaded edge'and screw threads, which method comprises forming ahatshaped blank, turning upwardly a portion of the flange on the bottomof the blank to provide a beaded edge, forming the lower end of thescrew thread adjacent to the flange and directly ahead of the turning ofthe flange to form the bead so that the lower part of the thread may. bepositioned close:to the bottom of the cap, and

thereafter turning upwardly the flange adjacent to the lower end of thethread to complete thewire edge. 4

20. The method of making closure caps and similar articles havingthreads therein and a bead at the lower edge thereof, which methodcomprises beading a portion of the lower edge of the cap and forming. aportion of the thread circumferentially ahead of the beaded portion sothat the thread may be positioned close to the bottom of the cap. I

21. The method of making closure caps and similar articles, which methodcomprises rolling a thread in the cap, commencing a subsequent rollingoperation prior to the completion of the first rolling operation,tuincrease the depth of the thread, and rolling a beaded edge on thebottom of the cap. 1

22. The method of making closure caps and the like, which methodcomprises rolling a beaded edge on the bottom of arblank, starting therolling of the lower end of a screw thread on said blankcircumferentially in advance of therolling of the beaded edge, andcontinuing the rolling thereof about the circumference of the cap andthereafter increasing the depth of the thread by a subsequent rollingoperation.

23. In a device of the class described, the combination in a capforming. device of a rotatable chuck adapted to fit into a cap, a capforming mechanism adapted to cooperate with said chuck, said mechanismcomprising a rib for forming a substantially spiral thread in said capand a sec and rib for threading the cap to form a deeper thread thansaid first rib. I

24. In a device of the class described, the

combination of a cap forming device comprising" rotatable chuck adaptedto fit into a cap, a cap forming mechanism adapted to cooperate withsaid chuck, said mechanism comprising a surface for threading. said cap,and a second surface for threading the cap, said second surface 'beingadapted to form deeper threads than said first threading surface, meansfor forming a beaded edge on the bottom of said cap, and means forforming corrugations in the cap.

JOHN C. GIBBS.

